In 1703, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the Venerable Isidore, a Capuchin Franciscan monk in Seville, in Aragon, Spain. She asked him to encourage the people to seek her intercession with her Son, addressing her as “La Divina Pastora”.

The Capuchin Franciscans embraced Our Lady under this title, and in 1715, some of them arrived in Venezuela as missionaries to the Amerindians. They extended this missionary service to Trinidad in 1756, setting up four missions on the island, one of them being on the plateau of Siparia in the south-western part of the island.

Siparia was chosen because it was an ancient meeting place for many tribes of Amerindians who regularly journeyed to the island from South America. It was therefore a strategic point for coming into contact with large numbers of Amerindians. The mission they established in Siparia was placed under the patronage of Our Lady, La Divina Pastora.

The mission proved to very fruitful. By 1835, it had already achieved the status of parish, and the powerful intercession of Our Lady under the title La Divina Pastora was well-known throughout the island. It had already become a place of pilgrimage.

By 1872, Fr Cornelius O'Hanlon wrote about this in the parish records available at the church at Siparia. He mentions the statue of La Divina Pastora, which had been enthroned in the church since the Mission days.

He also wrote about the visits and generous contributions of pilgrims of the various ethnicities, including the Chinese and the East Indians, which, he said, enabled him to rebuild the church building. After Fr O'Hanlon's time, Siparia became an out-station of the parish of South Oropouche, and remained so until 1906.

Sometime during the 19th century an RC primary school was opened at Siparia, and for years was the only school for miles around. In 1953, another school was built and opened in January 1954. It was St Brigid's Girls’ RC School, and was administered by the Sisters of the Holy Faith. The other school became Siparia Boys' RC School.

Construction of the present church building was started in 1957 by the beloved Fr Kieron Lennon. It was completed by Fr Eugene Delahunte in the early 1960s, and dedicated on June 20, 1965.

Today, the church is considered one of the very few Catholic pilgrimage shrines in Trinidad and Tobago. It is also one of the very few churches in this country that remains open for at least 12 hours each day.

It must be stressed that the pilgrims who come are not only Catholics, but people of every Christian faith practised in this country, as well as those of non-Christian faiths, principally Hindus. On any day one is likely to meet people from a wide cross-section of the society, as well as foreigners.

As we celebrate 250 years of Catholicism in Siparia, we invite everyone to join us as we celebrate this wonderful blessing through our usual second Sunday devotions from November 2006 to April 2007.

This time we add a new dimension for this year only, and that is the carrying of the image of our queen, Our Lady, La Divina Pastora, into every nook and cranny of the parish, in motorcade.